Fiber treatment



D 1938- I H. L. (SIEVER 2,115,218

m IIHHM I Filed Dec. 20. 1933 a, MNVENTOR.

Patented Apr. 26, 1938 UNITED STATES PATENT. oFFI E FIBER TREATMENTHughes L. Siever, Keyser, W. Va. I Application December 20, 1933, SerialNo. 703,241

'9 Claims (01. 19-66) The invention relates to the application ofliquids to textile fibers and particularly cotton in the course of itsmanufacture into yarn, either for conditioning it for such manufactureor for imparting color or some other property thereto. Current methodsof applying liquids to textile fibers involve the use of sprayingdevices and the like, and are subject to the objection that the surfacesof the apparatus wherein the textile is being worked or being handled,become wetted' by'the liquid and this not only interferes with themanufacture process, slowing down production, but also represents'awaste of the liquid amounting in some cases to a substantial loss.

This invention provides a practical way to apply the treating liquid sothat there is no contactthereof with the textile apparatus and so thatthe waste referred to is avoided and better and closer regulation madepossible and other advantages also obtained as will presently becomeapparent.

According to this invention the treating liquid, which is by preferencea light mineral oil of lubricating property or a liquid not too quicklydrying, is delivered to an applicator device of suitable form andtransferred therefrom to the cotton by the wiping action of the latterthere on as it advances into, through or from a textile machine.Preferably the oil or liquid is wiped off by the advancing cotton as thelatter converges into a trumpet or other condensing instrument and bythat part only of the cotton which is presently-to form the interiorpart or core of the resultant delivery. Thus disposed the liquid isimmediately enveloped or wrapped up in thelarger mass of unwetted fiberswhere it remains until by further workings or other-' wise it hasbecome'spread out in andv taken up by them, imparting to them thedesired propertie's. .The amount thus applied is gauged according to theamount of stock and the ultimate liquid percentage desired for eachfiber, and in consequence there is no excess or external wetness, to wetthe machinery at any stage of man'- ufacture and hence no difliculty inmaintaining an exactly constant percentage of. liquid in the pr, uct.Though not limited to oil the invention is peculiarly related thereto,since so far' as I am aware in no other way can slowly or non- 0vaporizing liquids 'be so efflciently applied to permeate textilefabrics.

Practically all animal and vegetable fibers are hygroscopic andaccording to' their own indi viduai characteristics 'will absorb theirnormal I amouni of moisture, under'certain humid conditions. Since thisinvention primarily concerns cotton, this fiber will serve to illustratethe point in view. Normally, cotton fiber contains approximately 8% ofwater. When in this ap-' proximate condition, it is considered ideal for5 manufacturing purposes. Due to its hygroscopic nature it is difficultto maintain this'moisture. Just as the fiber will absorb moisture undernormal conditions, so will it give it up under abnormal conditions. 10

For the purpose of manufacturing the raw cotton into spun yarn throughall the processes in a. cot n manufacturing plant, it: is desirable tokeep t e fibers at or near the normal contentof moisture, because inthis state the staple is soft, 15 pliable, and'the minimum frictionresults. If it becomes dry the fibres become brittle, break, flare outand are uncontrollable. .In dry'climates nature does not provide aconstant humid condition and artificial means must be used to 20humidity the plants. The variations in climatic changes are sopronounced from day to day, that even' the best artificial systems ofhumidifying are not capable or dependable to assure thebestmanufacturing conditions. Therefore, from a manufacturing standpoint,humidification may be considered nothing more or less than lubrication,inasmuch as it provides a; condition of working the fibers into yarn andsince the object of this invention is to-facilitate the machining ofthese 30 delicate fibers, the problem of lubrication falls within thisscope. V Humidity refers to the amount of water vapor in theatmosphere.- Absolute humidity. means the actual density of water vaporregardless of 35 its temperature'or whether or not the air is saturated.Relative humidity is the ratio of the weight of vapor actually existingat the same temperature. Saturated air has a relative humidity of 100%.0"

To maintain a relative humidity in rooms and large cotton mills, andparticularly at the point the fiber is actually throwing oil! itsmoisture, as in the drawing, intermediate roving frames, spinningframes,'is almost impossible and fiuc- 45 tuations in the moisturecontentare constant and will vary throughout the mill in spite ofallnatural and artificial humidity. It is an object of this invention todisplace the necessity and expense of humidiflcation, by a satisfactoryand suitable fixed lubricant, capable of remaining with the fiberthroughout all the manufacturing pirocesses, thus eliminating artificialhumidificae" I am aware that certain methods are in 5 for oiling thestock prior to the carding process,-

but the carding process being such a close, effective combing systemcomposed'of approximately 500 square feet of metallic wire,'will notpermit suificient amounts of a fixed lubricant to be applied until thestock has passed the cards.

Cotton manufacturers claim little or no humidity is required up to thepoint of converting the stock into the first sli'ver, because prior tothis point manufacturing is a matter of cleaning the fiber, by, roughshaking, tumbling, beating and picking, whereas, the drier the stock thebetter it cleans, therefore, humidity or lubrication is not consideredessential and is avoided more or less.

Up to the first sliver the fibers are more or less in a criss-erossformation, but from the sliver on the manufacturing is a problem ofparallelism of individual fibers, while thereafter, the

- processes of drawing the fibers parallel causes spreading bypermeation,.throughout the mass.

of cotton, by contact in drawing the fibers parallel to each otherthrough successive steps until 7 spun into yarn. The object of placingthe liquid in the center of the first sliver is necessary to insurepermeation to start equally in all directions and to enclose the liquidconstantly or alternately but centrally to efiect the best distributionin subsequent drawing processes. I have found that by this method staticelectricity ispractically eliminated and proper lubrication is provided,thus the expense of artificial humidification-is not'- essential.

While the effect above described can be brought about in various kindsof textile machines, it is illustrated for the purpose of thisdisclosure as produced by treatment of cotton in an ordinary cottoncard.-

In the accompanying drawing, Fig. ,1 is a general elevation, partlysectioned.

Fig. 2 a larger section of the trumpet and aplicator, and

Fig. 3 a section on line III-Ill of Fig. 2. The card fleece delivered bythe doffer combl is gathered into a trumpet 2anddrawn therethrough bythecalender-rolls 3 from whence it is taken upwards by the coiler head 4,as a card silver 5, and coiled into the sliver can 6, all in the usualmanner. The applicator in this case is a slender tube'l the delivery endof which is bent .or directed inwards parallel to the path of the fiberand towards or into the mouth or entrance of the trumpet 2' and about onits central axis or so as to have contact only with that part of thegathering'fieece whichforms the center of the sliver.

Preferably the open end of the tube is well within the trumpet asindicated. so that the fibers wipe it with some pressure. It is suppliedwith the liquid through ,a." glass sight tube 8 from a constant levelrecep- Y tacle or float chamber 9, the latter being connected to alarger supply source. By means of the. needle valve III, whichconstitutes a dripregulator and in virtue of the constant af-. fordedthereto by the float-controlled supply, the

liquid fiow into the tube can be nicely regulated to any predeterminednumber of drops per minute, observable in the sight tube. Thusa'constant supply is maintained in and at. the end of the tube which'isconstantly being wiped off by the fibers as they move into the trumpet.Those fibers which immediately contact with the wetted end of the tubeare more or less soaked and ove loaded with the oil, but the immediatesqueezir i h efiect of the trumpet and calender rolls 3. which isfollowed also by that of the coiler-head rolls tends to distributesuch'oil, thus immediately starting its outward permeation into thesurrounding fibers. The progress or rate of permeation thereafterdepends to some extent on the nature of the treating liquid, but withthe percentage needed for normal working requirements with any liquid,there is no danger that the surfaces of the textile machine or of thesliver cans or other holders will become wetted or appreci- Theinvention further consists in and compre-' hends the principle ofinternally applying treating liquids, in the manner described orotherwise,

when such liquids are dyeing or coloring media, because the internalapplication of a dye to a of coloring a. yarn during its manufacture andaffords a notable saving of labor, dye and ap paratus as compared toexisting practice. When the treating liquid is a dye, it is best if itis oily ably soiled with the liquid. Final distribution of j sliver, asI have discovered, is an excellent way or s1owdrying, because it is thusbest distributed to the rest of the fibers, for the production of auniform color. When applied at the card, the ultimate shade or color isachieved when complete distribution of the liquid, has occurred as theresult of the evening processes carried out as usual in the drawingframes, 61' in the slubbers.

The treating liquid whether a dye or not, can be applied at other stagesof manufacture than the card and at successive stages if desired and ifmore liquid is required than can be delivered in one point. Obviously itcan be applied'in any textile-working machine where fibers converge ina-fieece, lap, sliver or roving form into a condensing or gatheringinstrument and emerge therefrom as a compound delivery or in a compoundstate; In all such cases whether it be comber, draw or roving frame anapplicator tube similar to that shown herein can-be availed of forlocally'wetting those fibers which make the center of thecompounddelivery and this will in general be found to be the most practical formof application.

When many machines are at work it is desirable that each .of them beequipped with its own the present case or its equivalent'and also withdrip regulator device suchas the needle valve in exact regulation ofsupply may thus be made 'at each machine affording maximum economy anduniformity of." product. I claim- I v 1. The method of treating textilefibers which comprises delivering liquid constantly to an applicator,conducting a fleece or band of the fibers over such applicator in wipingcontact therewith and folding such band so that the wetted portion is inthe interior.

2. The method of applying a treating fluid to textile fiberswhichcomprises moving the fibers through a condensing instrument,depressing the central portion of the fibers by means of a fixedapplicator through which the fluid flows and whereby the fluid is wipedfrom the applicator by the moving fibers and deposited in the centralportion of the fibers.

3. The method of applying a coloring fiuid to textile fibers whichcomprises delivering the fluid to an applicator, conducting a fleece orband of the fibers past such applicator in wiping contact therewith andfolding such fleece or band so that the colored portion is on theinterior.

4. In apparatus for treating textile fibers, the combination of a fiberconducting trumpet, means for passing the fibers through the trumpet, anapplicator tube extending into the fibers and wiped thereby and havingits outlet inside the trumpet entrance, and means for supplying liquidto said tube.

5. In apparatus for treating textile fibers, the' combinationof a fibercondensing instrument, an applicator tube having an open delivery endextending into the fibers and wiped thereby, said delivery end beingdisposed within the condensing instrument. Y

.- That method of treatingtextile fibers which comprises delivering aliquid to an applicator and conducting said mass of fibers past saidapplicator in wiping contact therewith and folding said mass of fibersso that the applied fiuid is on the interior of the mass.

7. The method of applying a treating fluid to a web of textile fibers asit emerges from a carding machine which comprises forming the web into asliver and causing the treating fluid to drip onto the mass from abovethe mass as it is being condensed and before it reaches sliver stage.

8. In a machine for treating textile fibers having means for advancingthe fibers in mass formation, the combination with a tubular applicatorhaving its discharge outlet located so as to be embedded within andsubstantially surrounded by the advancing mass of fibers, a liquidsupply source adapted to deliver liquid through said outlet insolid asdistinguished from atomized form and means for regulatingsuch deliveryrelative to the speed of the advancing fibers to confine the immediatemoistening action to the interior of the mass. 4

9., In a machine for processing textile fibers having means foradvancing the fibers in mass formation as distinguished from sliver orstrand form, the combination with an applicator having its dischargeoutlet located substantially in the path of and wiped by the advancingmass of fibers, a liquid supply source adapted to deliver liquid throughsaid applicator, and means for regulating such delivery relative to thespeed of the advancing fibers.

IIUGHES; L. IEVEB;.

